Jasmine's POV

"Annabeth!" Percy and I yelled.

We started to run after her, but our enemies weren't done with us. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.

Most of the hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

I was pissed off. No one was going to keep me from my best friend. "Toothless!"

His mouth was glowing purple and he fired a shot at the helicopter. At the same time, the auburn-hair girl thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, some of which were burned to death by Toothless's plasma blast while the rest scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on us.

Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoë scanned the rest of us. "Five half-bloods, a non-mortal, a satyr, and a dragon, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. "You have to let us save her!"

The auburn-haired girl turned toward him. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."

He tried to struggle to his feet, but a couple of the girls held him down.

"Leave him alone," I snarled and pushed them off of him.

"You are in no condition to be hurtling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.

"She's right," Will said.

I glared at him. He backed off and stood behind me.

I know he was just trying to give his best medical advice since he would like to become a doctor someday, but I was so not in the mood for it right now.

"Who do you think you are?" Percy demanded.

It hadn't occurred to me that he didn't know exactly who she was . . . until now.

Zoë stepped forward as if to smack him. I intercepted her and unsheathed my dual blades, Toothless growling at her right beside me.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoë. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."

The younger girl looked at Percy, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."

"Um . . . okay," Percy said, really intelligent.

Will's eyes widened at the surprise, but that was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so . . . you're so . . . Wow!"

I rolled my eyes. Toothless did the same and spit a bit of fire onto his butt, lighting him on fire a bit. That lightened my mood as I watched sit down on a pile of snow to put it out.

"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!"

"She's right," I agreed.

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who . . . who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but . . ."

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian . . . athlete?"

"No," Zoë said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quivered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

As anxious as I felt about Annabeth—all I wanted to do was search for her—I couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. When Annabeth and I first went to Camp Half-Blood, it was that hard for us to comprehend. After all, we were only seven years old. We tended to believe anything we were told then. But like when Percy first learned he was a demigod . . .

Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well . . . Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell."

Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained. I felt my emotions build up again.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

I glared at her. If anyone was going to find her, it was going to be me.

"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked.

"She is gone," Artemis replied. "Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

I could tell Percy still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, me as well, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she'd been down there in the sea, Percy would be able to feel her presence, and by the look on his face, he couldn't. Even Toothless looked down the cliff, as if also contemplating whether to fly down there and look for her or not.

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains . . . Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"Bianca," Percy said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.

"Wait." Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"

"There is another option," Zoë said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia and I said.

Thalia and I glared at Zoë. I remembered the last time we ran into her . . . Thalia and I did not want a repeat of that for Bianca.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while . . . as a favor to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.

Zoë gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so . . . Argh!"

"I'm with you," Percy said. "I don't trust—"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on him furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster!"

"Thalia!" I yelled.

"I—" Percy started.

"If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved," Thalia continued. "Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"

Percy's jaw clenched

"Do you actually think that's his fault?!" I screamed. "If he waited for us, who the hell knows where Bianca and Nico would be right now. Probably wherever the hell Annabeth is at this moment. Or worse. Did you think of that?"

Will put his hands on my shoulders and gripped them firmly. "Easy, there. We're all still friends here."

I thought Percy was going to say some harsh things himself, but then he looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at his feet. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.

Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving the four of us alone with a trampled cap in the snow.


The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes, just like before. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid. A few of them paid me a visit. They didn't seem to mind Toothless. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.

But I still couldn't believe Annabeth was gone. I was very angry about it, but I haven't decided on who exactly was to blame for it. Probably that damn manticore.

"So . . ." Will asked me. "What kind of history do you have with the Hunters of Artemis?"

"Not a good one," I replied. I wasn't in the mood to explain right then.

I watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods. I wondered what she was thinking. I mean, I could read her mind, but I really didn't want to right now.

Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give us—me, Annabeth, Luke, Grover, and Toothless—time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree.

Finally, one of the Hunters brought us our backpacks. Grover and Nico came back from their walk, and Will grabbed out his medical supplies and I helped him fix up Percy's wounded arm.

"It's green!" Nico said with delight.

"Hold still," Will told him.

"Here, eat some ambrosia while he cleans that cut," Grover said.

Percy winced as we dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square seemed to help. Between that and the supplies Will used, his shoulder seemed better within a couple of minutes.

Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, I didn't know. Natural hunting skills, I guess. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Big collection," Percy said.

Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game a long time?"

"Just this year. Before that . . ." He knit his eyebrows.

"What?" Percy asked.

"I forgot. That's weird."

He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"

Percy showed him Riptide and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"

"Um, well, I don't actually write with it."

"Are you really the son of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"Can you surf really well, then?"

Percy looked at the rest of us, and we were trying really hard not to laugh.

"Jeez, Nico," Percy said. "I've never really tried."

"You should," I said. "I'd really like to know myself."

Nico went on asking questions. Did Percy fight a lot with Thalia, because she was a daughter of Zeus? (He didn't answer that one.) If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? (Percy and I both tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one.) Was Annabeth his girlfriend? (I pursed my lips and widened my eyes toward Percy, who, at this point, seemed ready to stick Nico in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.)

I figured any second he was going to ask Percy how many hit points he has, and I think he'd lose his cool completely, but then Zoë Nightshade came up to us.

"Percy Jackson."

She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty. She studied Percy distastefully, like he was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.

"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

"Not without me, she's not," I said.

"She only requested for the boy."

"Well, you're going to have to tell her too bad. I'm coming whether you or her likes it or not."

She regarded me with her cold stare. "Very well."


"I don't need a bodyguard," Percy whispered to me as we followed Zoë.

"You kind of always do," I whispered back. "But I don't trust these bitches, and I already lost Annabeth today. I'm not going to risk losing you too."

Zoë led us to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved us inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to Artemis.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't want to recognize. I figured an animal rights activist, which I am for the most part, would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis is goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot. I thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then I realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap. Everything looked exactly the same as it did last time.

"Join us, Percy Jackson and Jasmine Saturday," Artemis said.

We sat across from her on the tent floor. Artemis studied Percy, which seemed to make him uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Uh . . . a little," Percy admitted.

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" Percy asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

"Oh."

I rolled my eyes.

Zoë sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at Percy as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was his fault, like he'd invented the idea of being a guy.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp . . ." She looked at Zoë. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoë said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the . . . mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."

And so he told her.

When he was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her bow. "I feared this was the answer."

Zoë sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" Percy asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at Percy intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"

"No, no. After that."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."

Zoë's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.

"Go on, Percy," she said.

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—"

"Stirring," Bianca and I corrected.

"Yeah. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"

Artemis was so still she could've been a statue.

"Maybe he was lying," Percy said.

Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoë looked like she was trying hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No, Zoë. I must do this alone."

"But, Artemis—"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As . . . as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

"You know what the monster is?" Percy asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong."

"Can goddesses pray?" he asked, which was actually a pretty good question.

A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you."

"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"

"It better not," I said.

"Sadly, no," Artemis said. "I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

"What?" Zoë blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—"

"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoë muttered something about foolish campers.

"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Uh, oh," I said.

"Wait," Percy said. "Thinking about what?"

"They . . . they've asked me to join the Hunt," Bianca replied.

"Of course they did," I said, glaring at Artemis.

"What? But you can't!" Percy said. "You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."

"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoë said.

Percy didn't seem to understand. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and . . . I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"

"To begin with," Zoë said, "immortality."

He stared at her, then Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Zoë rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arm. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal . . . unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" Percy asked.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?"

Artemis nodded.

"So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you, then?" I was curious to know myself, if that were the case. She didn't quite feel like a demigod, though I wasn't sure if that was because she was a Hunter.

Anger flashed in Zoë's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"Well, that we agree on," I muttered with my arms crossed.

"Bianca, this is crazy," Percy said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."

"He's right."

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

"Hey!" Percy and I protested.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you can't do this," Percy said. "It's nuts."

She looked at Zoë. "Is it worth it?"

Zoë nodded. "It is."

"What do I have to do?"

"Say this," Zoë told her. "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"I . . . I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis."

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"

Zoë nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."

"I accept it," Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel . . . stronger."

She felt stronger too.

"Welcome, sister," Zoë said.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life."

Percy couldn't speak. I, however, was even more pissed off than I was before. Typical of the gods.

"Do not despair, Percy and Jasmine," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."

"Great," Percy said surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoë, break camp. You must go to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoë didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of us. "I'm sorry, Percy and Jasmine. But I want this. I really, really do."

"We're not the ones you should be apologizing to, you selfish bitch," I responded with vile.

She looked down at the ground, seeming to realize that. Then she was gone, and Percy and I were left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess bitch.

"So," Percy said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"

Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."


Sorry for the late updates! I wanted to finish the current chapter I was working on, which was quite long, and I've gotten involved in multiple different kinds of sports that it's hard to make time for this story aside from another game I play too much, lol. But I'm still continuing!

Personally, I never liked Bianca for what she did, and this was the only time I particularly liked Nico. He was adorable in this book!

The official title of this chapter is Bianca di Angelo Makes a Choice (and a Terrible One at That), but fanfiction . net's character limit sucks.

Please review, and please check out my Discord server! at discord . gg / bMFV9g6 (no spaces). Make sure you let me know who you are!